General Electric retirees and employees hold a protest rally outside the GE plant in Schenectady, NY, on Thursday, April 15, 2010. The groups are protesting the amount the retirees receive in pension from GE. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union archive) less

General Electric retirees and employees hold a protest rally outside the GE plant in Schenectady, NY, on Thursday, April 15, 2010. The groups are protesting the amount the retirees receive in pension from GE. ... more

Photo: PAUL BUCKOWSKI

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GE cutting 225 union jobs in Schenectady amid power market woes

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Schenectady

General Electric Co. is laying off 200 hourly workers at its Schenectady plant as the company still appears to be wrangling with costs in its troubled GE Power unit.

The workers, represented by IUE-CWA Local 301, were just getting word Monday evening and Tuesday morning that they will be losing their jobs. Another 25 unfilled jobs will be eliminated through attrition.

"Based on the ongoing challenges facing the power industry and a 45 percent decline in volume at our Schenectady facilities, GE announced a job reduction impacting a number of manufacturing and assembly employees today," GE Power spokesman Christopher Shigas told the Times Union in a company statement. "This action is difficult and does not reflect the performance, dedication, and hard work of our employees."

Over the past several years, GE's employment in Schenectady has hovered around 4,000 jobs, many of them white collar roles such as engineering, marketing and procurement with GE Power and other GE units such as renewable energy.

Another 1,500 scientists and technicians work at the Global Research Center in Niskayuna, GE's main research laboratory.

However, the blue-collar workforce, which toils in GE's massive steam turbine plant, has historically been the bedrock of GE's long history at what is also called the Schenectady Works. Employment at GE in general is being reduced by new CEO John Flannery, who has targeted GE Power especially, although he has chosen to keep GE Power within GE instead of looking to spin it off like other units such as GE Healthcare.

Union leaders were not taking the cuts lightly. Local 301 is one of the strongest union shops in the region and state because of GE's long history here. The Schenectady plant employed 40,000 during World War II although employment has steadily dropped over the decades as GE, like other industrial conglomerates, moved jobs to cheaper locations and closer to its customers abroad.

"The recent decision by GE Power to lay off our members is extremely disheartening and disappointing," Local 301 Business Agent Rob Macherone told the Times Union. "This company was built on our members' back and they now pay a price for things outside their control. Our focus right now is ensuring those affected by these cuts receive all of their contractual benefits, and going forward we will continue to fight for job security for our members."

GE's financial performance has been dragged down for more than a year by the poor performance of its GE Power unit, which makes power plant equipment. The unit is GE's oldest and traces its roots back to Thomas Edison, who established manufacturing operations in Schenectady before GE was officially founded in 1892.

This is the second round of deep union cuts in Schenectady this year. GE laid off 130 hourly workers between its Schenectady plant and Niskayuna research lab in January. The workforce of Local 301 workers at the Schenectady plant totaled about 800 at the beginning of the year.

Any layoffs of Local 301 workers are governed by the contract between the union and GE, with the layoffs impacting the newest workers with the least amount of time on the job. Often such cuts are dictated by steam turbine orders that GE gets, and so workers can be called back by the union and GE if orders increase in the future, although many will likely find new jobs in the meantime.

"All impacted employees will be provided with a comprehensive severance package, including transition support to new employment," Shigas, the GE Power spokesman, said.

GE Power has been reeling from a global glut of power plant equipment and overly optimistic projections for demand for its gas and steam turbines. The company has been in the process of cutting 12,000 workers globally to try and right-size its operations and its workforce.

Ray Gillen, chair of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority, which has provided GE with financial incentives in the past for expansions and job creation at the Schenectady plant, said his office will work with the state Department of Labor to help displaced workers find new jobs locally.

"Today's announcement is not a reflection on Schenectady or the dedicated employees who work for GE that live throughout the Capital Region," Gillen said. "The cutback is the result of a drop in orders for power equipment that is impacting many GE Power sites globally. Our first concern is the impacted employees and their families."

At an event Tuesday morning in Schenectady, state Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara of Rotterdam said he was upset about the GE layoffs when asked by WGY radio.

"It shows that we really can't count on them anymore," Santabarbara said.